With Apple Pay not yet released, credit card provider Capital One has released a compatible mobile wallet app that is actually pretty good for something produced by a financial institution, according to a TechCrunch article by Sarah Perez. Capital One Wallet slid quietly into the App Store in September, and is only now being publicly acknowledged by Capital One.
Interestingly, the app eschews Apple’s TouchID biometric identification and opts instead for a system called “SureSwipe”, which requires users to log in particular finger-swipe patterns. It’s a feature very similar to the log-in system used for Android devices, and indeed, Capital One has announced that an Android version of the app is currently in development.
Lest anyone feel too aghast at this seemingly lower-tier security, it should be noted that at present the app is mostly administrative in function, and doesn’t actually facilitate financial transactions: It notifies users of payments, lets them check balances, and provides access to applicable earned rewards. Additionally, customers have to set up the whole thing online through Capital One’s website, which does add a certain level of protection; though one shouldn’t be surprised to see biometric security measures added in the future as the app’s integration into users’ pockets deepens.
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